Carbon Monoxide to Prevent Lung Inflammation

Summary

This study will examine in healthy volunteers how breathing carbon monoxide (CO) affects lung inflammation. Severe lung inflammation sometimes develops in patients with pneumonia or patients who develop serious blood stream infections. Studies in the laboratory and in animals show that CO can decrease lung inflammation.

Healthy volunteers between 18 and 40 years of age who do not smoke, are not taking any medications, do not have asthma, are not allergic to sulfa- and penicillin-based drugs, and are not pregnant may be eligible for this study. Candidates are screened with a medical history and physical examination, blood and urine tests, electrocardiogram (EKG), and chest x-ray. Subjects are enrolled in either a pilot study or the main study.

Participants undergo bronchoscopy and bronchoalveolar lavage to study the effects of endotoxin (a component of bacteria that causes inflammation similar to that in patients with lung infections) on lung function. Before the procedure, a small plastic tube (catheter) is placed in a vein to collect blood samples and another is placed in an artery to check blood pressure. For the bronchoscopy, the mouth and nasal airways are numbed with lidocaine, and a bronchoscope (thin flexible tube) is passed through the nose into the airways of the lung. A small amount of salt water is squirted through the bronchoscope into one lung and then salt water containing endotoxin is squirted into the other lung.

Following the bronchoscopy, subjects are treated with either CO or room air (placebo) for 6 hours. (Subjects in the pilot study receive treatment for only 3 hours). The gas is delivered through a cushioned mask placed over the nose and mouth. The amount of exhaled CO is measured before, during, and after inhalation of the gas. For this measurement, subjects take a deep breath to fill up their lungs and slowly exhale into a mouthpiece connected to a measuring device until they feel their lungs are empty.

After the CO treatment, a second bronchoscopy is done to examine how the lung responded to the CO or room air. This is studied in two ways. To sample the air, a large needle is used to withdraw air through the bronchoscope over about 3 seconds. Then the areas of the lung that were squirted with salt water alone and with endotoxin and salt water and are rinsed (lavage) and cells and secretions are collected.

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Conditions

• Respiratory Distress Syndrome, Adult

Interventions

PROCEDURE

Bronchoscopy

PROCEDURE

Bronchoalveolar lavage

DRUG

Endotoxin

DRUG

Carbon Monoxide

Sponsors & Collaborators

• National Institutes of Health Clinical Center (CC)

  lead NIH

Principal Investigators

• Anthony F Suffredini, M.D. · National Institutes of Health Clinical Center (CC)

Study Design

Allocation

RANDOMIZED

Purpose

TREATMENT

Eligibility

Min Age

18 Years

Max Age

40 Years

Sex

ALL

Healthy Volunteers

No

Timeline & Regulatory

Start

2004-10-13

Primary Completion

2010-03-11

Completion

2010-03-11

Countries

• United States

Study Locations